Thanks to hefty sales increases from kidney disease drug Kerendia and prostate cancer treatment Nubeqa, Bayer’s pharma division weathered the storm from the loss of exclusivity in the U.S. of blockbuster Xarelto in the first quarter.
Sales of Kerendia were up 89% to 161 million euros ($179 million) in the first quarter, while Nubeqa saw a surge of 81% to 515 million euros ($574 million).
As a result of the “exceptional momentum” of the two drugs, according to CEO Bill Anderson, Bayer’s pharma sector posted a surprising 4.4% increase in revenue to 4.55 billion euros ($5.07 billion).
“These gains more than offset the declines we’re seeing on Xarelto,” Anderson added of the blood thinner, sales of which tumbled 31% to 633 million euros ($706 million).
The long-awaited positive results come from a company that has been mired in sales declines as it attempts to dig out from its disastrous $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto nearly a decade ago.
Bayer stopped short of increasing its 2025 guidance for the group, but the company said that it now expects to reach the top end of its projection for pharma sales. Earlier this year, the company said it expected pharma sales to decline between 1% and 4% in 2025. In 2024, Bayer's pharma sales grew 3% to 18.13 billion euros ($20.25 billion).
“We know the Xarelto declines will weigh heavily on our top and bottom line over the remainder of the year, but we’re equally confident in the momentum of our launches and the fundamentals of our business,” Anderson said on a conference call. “In fact, in a more certain environment, we would likely have adjusted our guidance for pharmaceuticals upward. But given our uncertainty around tariffs, we feel it’s prudent to reaffirm what we said in March and then closely monitor developments.”
Also helping compensate for the sales decline of Xarelto was a strong performance by Eylea, which was up 4%, thanks to the launch of the longer-acting version of the eye disease treatment.
Bayer’s contraceptive drugs also continue to post gains, with sales of Mirena and the Yaz franchise up 20% and 13%, respectively, to a combined 539 million euros ($601 million).
Anderson, who took over Bayer after a successful run as the pharma division chief at Roche, credited the improved fortunes of Bayer’s pharma division to his efforts to pare down the company. In the first quarter, Bayer reduced its headcount by 2,000, bringing the grand total since the initiative began in July 2023 to 11,000.
“We have launch activities underway across the business, so 12% earnings growth is a remarkable feat and an encouraging sign that our model is helping teams do more with less,” Anderson said.